Conditioning machines that deliver lane dressing to the applicator roll using flexible wick segments are well-known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,181,290 and 6,685,778, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The wick segments in the machines of those two patents are arranged in a row or series beside a metal transfer roll associated with the applicator roll and are flexed independently onto and off of the transfer roll in a controlled manner that is coordinated with the distance traveled by the machine along the lane so that a preselected dressing pattern can be applied to the lane surface. Each of the wick segments is manipulated by its own solenoid-actuated device which in turn is controlled by a programmed control system that determines which of the wick segments are contacting the transfer roll, and when.
The present invention contemplates a wick-type delivery system wherein the wick segments are actuated by a series of cam actuators, rather than solenoid-actuated devices. In a preferred embodiment the cam actuators are all fixed to a common cam shaft that is rotatably indexed through successive partial revolutions by a motor controlled by a controller. All of the cam actuators rotate in unison during each actuation of the motor, but some of the cams are configured to lift their corresponding wick segments off the transfer roll at a particular distance along the lane, while others are configured to keep their wick segments in dressing-delivering contact with the transfer roll. Subsequent brief actuations of the motor cause additional cams to lift their wick segments off the transfer roll until, finally, in a preferred embodiment, all wick segments are disengaged from the transfer roll such that no more dressing is delivered to the transfer roll and applicator roll. Preferably, each wick segment is provided with one or more springs that yieldably urge the segment into contacting engagement with the transfer roll.